1. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic or coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019; Since 2021, variants of the virus have emerged and become dominant in many countries, with the Delta, Alpha and Beta variants being the most virulent. As of 26 September 2021, more than 231 million cases and 4.74 million deaths have been confirmed, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

The virus was confirmed to have reached Latvia on 2 March 2020, having been brought along with people returning from abroad.The purpose of this report is to analyze and present information on the Covid-19 epidemic situation in the Republic of Latvia.

1.1 Location of Latvia

Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic states and is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west.

The world map below shows Latvia’s location.

Figure 01:Geographycal location of Latvia

1.2 Climate condition of Latvia

Latvia has a temperate oceanic climate, with cool winters and mild pleasant summers. In winter it is sometimes getting as cold as -6.6 degrees Celsius (20.1°F) to -2.8°C (27°F). Continuous snow cover in Latvia lasts on average around 82 days, with an average of 177 frost-free days a year.June, July and August are Latvia’s hottest months, with average temperatures of 20°C (68°F) to 22°C (72°F). Due to Latvia’s close proximity to the ocean, summers tend to be somewhat rainy. Average annual rainfall in Riga is 630 mm (24 in.), with an average of 180 rainy days annually.

1.3 Lockdown status of the Latvia

Currently, the cases of Covid-19 in Latvia are dropping and the government is gradually easing restrictions.Vaccinated people and former Covid-19 patients are able to travel without restrictions.The ban on non-essential travel to Latvia, the requirement to perform a test before and after the trip, as well as the requirement for self-isolation for vaccinated and recovered remain only when traveling from countries with a particularly high risk to public health .Non-Covid-19 certified individuals are allowed non-essential travel from the EU, EEA, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and low-risk third countries, but non-vaccinated people must be tested before travel and self-isolate upon arrival. When returning from high-risk third countries, those individuals must additionally undergo a test upon arrival in Latvia.

1.4 Actions taken by the government in Latvia

The Government of Latvia adopted the decision on emergency situation due to COVID-19 on 12 March to apply until 14 April. For the time being, this period has been extended once to 12 May. This post considers the applicable legal framework, concrete limitations adopted by the Saeima (Parliament) and the Government are described, followed by an assessment from the point of view of European Union values.

Digital Democracy

Since 2 April, the sittings take place partially remotely, via video conference, with MPs joining from different parts of the parliament building. According to Article 15 of the Constitution, the Saeima holds its sittings in the city of Riga, and only in extraordinary circumstances may it convene elsewhere. It was agreed that the Saeima may use the opportunities to work remotely – in other words, that ‘elsewhere’ in Article 15 might also mean the digital environment. However, for that solution the rules of procedure might need to be adapted – in particular, as regards the voting arrangements. Responding to the COVID-19 crisis, extraordinary (for unrelated reasons) elections of the Riga City Council, initially scheduled for May, have been postponed to 29 August.

Judicial System

A further law regarding the justice system (Law on Activities of State Institutions During Emergency Situation Due to the Spread on COVID-19) was adopted on 3 April for the period of emergency situation. Oral hearings in courts are to be held only in urgent and important civil, criminal and administrative cases, and hearings in other cases are to be postponed. Civil cases are to be examined in written procedure to the extent possible; and administrative violations cases are only examined in written procedure while ensuring all procedural rights. The law also allows the examination in writing of criminal cases on appeal, if neither the prosecution nor the affected persons (ie the accused, the victim) object. Short-term imprisonment for crimes and administrative violations is suspended.

Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Movement

The Law on Emergency Situation and State of Exception authorises the Government to introduce some restrictions as well – in particular, regarding movement, assemblies, or economic activity. Apart from that, the decision also provides for the exemptions from the procurement law for procurements related to the pandemic. All education programmes must be provided remotely.

Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law

It is difficult to obey the two-metre distance rule during events where many people take part, but smaller assemblies or pickets might be allowed . There is a certain controversy regarding religious events – while any religious gatherings seem to be prohibited, the explanation by the Minister for Justice seems to tolerate religious activities, where individual visitors take part respecting the two-metre distance. It should the ensured that the same treatment is applied to every religion without discrimination.

2. Exploratory Data Analysis

Figure 02:Daily Confiremed cases in Latvia

This chart shows that the number of Covid-19 confirmed patients remained at a very low level until September 2020, and by January 2021 that number had increased rapidly. By July, that number had dropped sharply, but since then there has been a slight increase in the number of confirmed patients.

Figure 03:Daily Recovered cases in Latvia

This chart shows a relatively low level of recovery due to low patient confirmation in the early period. The maximum recovery case is shown in December 2020. Since then the Recovery cases have been gradually reduced.

Figure 04:Daily Death cases in Latvia

Since October 2020, the number of Kovid deaths has increased rapidly. The maximum death case is shown in December. Since then, death cases have decreased gradually.

Summary measurements of Covid cases in Latvia

      date              province           country               lat       
 Min.   :2020-01-22   Length:1773        Length:1773        Min.   :56.88  
 1st Qu.:2020-06-17   Class :character   Class :character   1st Qu.:56.88  
 Median :2020-11-12   Mode  :character   Mode  :character   Median :56.88  
 Mean   :2020-11-12                                         Mean   :56.88  
 3rd Qu.:2021-04-09                                         3rd Qu.:56.88  
 Max.   :2021-09-18                                         Max.   :56.88  
      long          type               cases        
 Min.   :24.6   Length:1773        Min.   :  -30.0  
 1st Qu.:24.6   Class :character   1st Qu.:    0.0  
 Median :24.6   Mode  :character   Median :    4.0  
 Mean   :24.6                      Mean   :  162.7  
 3rd Qu.:24.6                      3rd Qu.:   92.0  
 Max.   :24.6                      Max.   :14912.0

Figure 05:Daily active cases in Latvia

From October to December in 2020, Covid-19 active cases are increased rapidly. Again that cases have been gradually reduced.

Comparison of other countries close to Latvia

Figure 06:Map of the countries around the Latvia

According to the map, the closest countries to Latvia are Estonia, Belarus and Lithuania. The following charts show the Covid cases between several of these countries.

Figure 07:Confirmed cases of neighbour countries in Latvia

According to this chart, the number of confirmed corona patients in Latvia and Estonia is approximately the same relative to the other countries. The highest number of confirmed cases is in Belarus.

Figure 08:Daily death cases of neighbor countries in Latvia

Lithuania has the highest number of Covid death cases than the other countries.The highest death cases are in December 2020. The death cases in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia has increased sharply since November in 2020. By July in 2021, the death cases has decreased gradually. Only Belarus shows a different death rate than other countries.

Figure 09:Recovered percentage of related countries in Latvia

This chart shows the percentage of recoveries of Covid-19 disease in countries. Latvia has the highest recovery rate. Overall, the recovery rate in all four countries is approximately the same.

3. Conclusions and Discussion

3.1 Conclusions

On March 2 in 2020, it was confirmed that the Chovid-19 virus had arrived in Latvia. From then until the first six months, confirmations of Covid-19 cases were minimal. Covid-19 confirmations have been risen sharply from October to December. Until July in 2021, more and more Covid patients have been reported. Covid confirmations, which had been risen, has largely declined by July. The reason for the decline may be due to the lockdown action taken by the Latvian government. Covid vaccination also was a direct effect on this. Covid confirmations, which fell sharply in July, are steadily rising again. Latvia is still in a period of increasing confirmation. It is a very bad result.

Until December 2020, Covid-19 recoveries were in low level. Recovery may also be reduced because the number of patients initially confirmed is lower.This may also be due to the fact that did not have a good understanding of treatment for Covid-19 in the early days. From January to June in 2021 there were slightly more recoveries.

Until October in 2020, Covid-19 deaths were very low. From October to December 2020, Covid-19 deaths were increased dramatically. The period from October to July in 2020 has seen a large number of deaths. Although deaths were lower in August, Covid deaths are now increased again. Covid deaths also fluctuate with Covid confirmations. Covid active cases also fluctuate with Covid confirmations.

When comparing Latvia with other countries, the lowest Covid-19 confirmations are reported in Latvia. Most confirmed in Belarus. Covid-19 confirmations in Latvia and Estonia are approximately equal. The country with the highest number of death cases is Lithuania.Between November 2020 and June 2021, a large number of death cases were occurred in all three countries except Belarus.The recovery rate is approximately the same in all four countries. Latvia has the highest recovery rate.

3.2 Discussion

This report has been compiled using a data set called Coronavirus.Here we focus more on the data frawere removed and analyzed the data. Also, when data with negative values were received, they were removed and analyzed . Therefore, there may be slight differences between the actual data and the conclusions contained in this report. The data in this report provide an overview of the Covid-19 distribution in Latvia. It is also possible to gain an understanding of the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine from these data. You can also get an overview of Covid-19 distribution in the countries around Latvia. It remains to be seen how Covid-19 will affect the future.